I’m so glad I married Julie. Without her, I would see hardly anything outside a few mile radius from home. I’m just not one to plan things, or search outside the box for something to do. Julie, on the other hand, is the queen of looking for places to take the family, outings that Katie might enjoy, weekend get-a-ways, daytrips, etc. Where I would go “someday”, she puts the trip on the calendar and we actually go!
Such was the case for apple picking in Oak Glen. I had never considered going, let alone actually planning it and making it happen. Boy am I glad we went.
Our first stop was Apple Annie’s restaurant and behind it, Oak Tree Village. We had a great breakfast both days at Apple Annie’s, and Saturday morning’s breakfast was accompanied by a family signing traditional Christian songs. You sure can tell you weren’t in the city anymore. What a nice surprise that was!
Behind Apple Annie’s is Oak Tree Village. This shopping village is free of charge and reminded me a lot of the Christmas Crafts Village at Knott’s.
Other attractions, such as the pony ride and animal farm, had small fees.
Katie loved the pony ride!
Her pony happened to be the one to, um…stop the ride for a minute. :)
Feeding a Deer.
The Gunfighters for Hire perform throughout the day. We weren’t around to see them though.
The surrounding mountains were beautiful.
Pig Races!
Not surprisingly, Katie’s never fed a pig before. She wasn’t sure what to think.
They had a small trout farm also. You could feed the fish for a quarter, and Katie absolutely loved it. The trout would come to the surface and splash around like crazy. Katie squealed with excitement.
Lots of apples are pre-picked and out for sale.
Beautiful mountains…hot mountains. We took the trip during a heat wave. I believe it was well above 100 degrees both days.
Our hotel. We stayed at the Highland Springs Resort, just down the mountain from Oak Glen in Beaumont. I don’t think we were very high, I didn’t see a single spring, and I would love to talk to the management about continuing to call it a resort.
It wasn’t a resort by any modern expectations. However, the hotel opened in the late 1800s, and by those standards, this was really something. It’s more of what you would expect from a church retreat today. Rustic, cabin-like rooms, hard wood floors, and maybe a bathtub. Few rooms had televisions, and none had coffee makers, irons, somewhere to plug in your iPod, no cable TV, ice machine, etc. The rooms are old, and even the newly renovated rooms have a 1920s look to them. The landscape is “natural”, as in no gardener has trimmed the bushes or cleaned the walkways in months. Cement is rare and dirt paths are the norm. There was no sign leading us to the lobby, but once we found it, we found the nicest building on the property. Their restaurant looked very nice and the wedding party that was there that evening undoubtedly had a great meal.
But…if you know all of that ahead of time and know what to expect, you can have a very nice time in this woodsy, rustic place that shows you what guests most likely experienced in the early 1900s. 
The entrance to the pool house. Really? The pool is open? The entire property had a very “deserted-yet-open” feel about it.
The pool was saltwater, so the usual chorine smell wasn’t there. Unfortunately the water wasn’t heated at all. Despite the blazing hot days, the pool was really really cold. I eventually got used to it, as did Katie. She was a real trooper.
Through this door are the lockers, changing rooms, a few weight machines, etc.
The jacuzzi was a pleasant surprise. Not too hot, it felt like a warm, comfortable bath. It was certainly cool enough for Katie to enjoy.
After a nice dinner in Beaumont, Katie was more than ready to head back to the hotel…and some air conditioning. More fun tomorrow!
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